And when everything settled, the only one left standing on the field was Ouyang Xiu!
"How is this possible!"
Ouyang Xiu stared in shock at the Grand Secretary, who hadn't even put up a fight. He couldn't imagine that this was the expert their Ouyang family had poured so much effort into cultivating.
Chen Fan calmly retracted his hand, then looked at Ouyang Yuming, who was clearly still in shock. "I'll lend you the people from Dark Fox. Over the next two days, properly clean up your family affairs."
This was, after all, an internal matter for the Ouyang family. Chen Fan had no intention of seeing it through to the end.
He nodded to Yin Ping beside him, then left without a word.
Chen Fan's demeanor was so casual, as if he were not the one who had just astonished everyone.
Chen Fan returned directly to Dark Fox.
He didn't inquire about the Ouyang family's affairs any further and retreated back into his room to cultivate.
Five days later.
Chen Fan emerged from his closed door.
The aura about him had changed visibly compared to a few days prior.
Yin Ping, standing beside him, could feel the surging spiritual energy within him.
Yin Ping looked at Chen Fan with delight. "Have you improved again?"
Chen Fan nodded. "It's considered an extra bargaining chip for this trip to the Southeastern Rift Valley."
Yin Ping breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded to Chen Fan. "Ge Jun is already waiting in the main hall. The car is ready for you, and you can depart anytime."
The journey from Dark Fox to the Southeastern Rift Valley was not short.
It would take a full day to drive there.
According to the original plan, the people from Dark Fox would escort them to the rift valley and wait for them outside.
Chen Fan nodded. "Let's go."
As Chen Fan spoke, the group of three embarked on the road to the rift valley.
Knowing Chen Fan's disposition, Yin Ping hadn't arranged for a garrulous driver, and Ge Jun was clearly not a man of many words.
The car was eerily silent for the entire journey.
Chen Fan was the first to break the silence. "Tell me about this rift valley."
Ge Jun sat with his arms crossed. Hearing Chen Fan's question, he calmly replied, "Located in the southeast, it's a naturally formed chasm. The rift valley is home to many demonic beasts and is perpetually covered in snow, hence it's also called the Frozen Rift Valley. It is fraught with danger, but also contains many spiritual items."
"Precisely because of this, many cultivators flock to the rift valley each year to seek treasures."
"The Iris Grass we are looking for is located in the very center of the Frozen Rift Valley. Even demonic beasts rarely appear there because that area is guarded by the Nine-tailed Spirit Snake."
"No demonic beast in the Frozen Rift Valley dares to compete with it for territory."
Chen Fan had a general impression and fell silent thereafter.
The further southeast the car traveled, the faster the temperature dropped.
From sparse human habitation, they gradually began to see small groups of cultivators on the road. Chen Fan knew they were nearing their destination.
The car slowly came to a halt.
Chen Fan and Ge Jun alighted.
This was the entrance to the Frozen Rift Valley, with many cultivators peering in and forming groups.
Of course, these offers were extended to Chen Fan, but due to the special nature of their mission, they declined all invitations.
It was a narrow passage that extended straight downwards, seemingly endlessly—
Chen Fan and Ge Jun exchanged a glance, then stepped inside.
"Tsk, two ignorant brutes!"
"They're not even waiting until they have enough people to go in. Who do they think they are!"
"Sigh! What do you guys know? They're just too proud to associate with us cultivators!"
As a few people were jeering, one of them froze upon seeing the people approaching ahead.
The group of three men and one woman walking towards them were all clad in golden robes, their hair styled high. The golden dragon emblem on their chests was too striking, leaving no doubt as to their identity—The Divine Palace!
That group seemed accustomed to such attention. Seeing the awe-struck gazes of the onlookers, they passed by without a glance, entering the rift valley.
Only when the figures of the Divine Palace group were no longer visible did the crowd dare to heave a sigh of relief.
"Such immense pressure. Truly worthy of being from the Divine Palace!"
"Is something good about to appear in the Frozen Rift Valley again!? Why has it attracted people from the Divine Palace?"
Amidst the murmurs of confusion, a "regular" of the Frozen Rift Valley looked up in shock from his notebook. "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the season when the Nectarine Fruit ripens."
Nectarine Fruit?!
Was that the legendary spiritual item that could directly help a god-level expert break through?!
No wonder!
Everyone suddenly understood—only something of this magnitude could attract people from the Divine Palace.
…
Meanwhile, Chen Fan and Ge Jun were venturing deeper into the Frozen Rift Valley.
The passage was long and narrow, without end in sight.
There were no other cultivators around them, making the silence between the two even more profound.
Chen Fan rubbed his nose. "Do you know the way?"
Ge Jun shook his head. "First time here. I only know it's roughly in the northeast direction."
Ge Jun, skilled and daring, felt that in the Frozen Rift Valley, no demonic beast could harm him except for the Nine-tailed Spirit Snake. It was said that the Frozen Rift Valley was a labyrinth, and every path eventually led to the center, with varying degrees of complexity and danger.
Therefore, whether he investigated the map or not made little difference to him.
Fine.
Chen Fan looked at the three diverging paths before him and chose one based on his intuition.
The luck of choosing one out of three made no difference to Chen Fan.
It was a pity, though, that he had picked the path of hellish difficulty.
The further they walked, the colder it became.